diff --git a/apps/ui/playwright.config.ts b/apps/ui/playwright.config.ts
index 9ffead44..7cd79e71 100644
--- a/apps/ui/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/apps/ui/playwright.config.ts
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@ export default defineConfig({
             env: {
               ...process.env,
               VITE_SKIP_SETUP: "true",
+              // Skip electron plugin in CI - no display available for Electron
+              VITE_SKIP_ELECTRON: process.env.CI === "true" ? "true" : undefined,
             },
           },
         ],
diff --git a/apps/ui/vite.config.mts b/apps/ui/vite.config.mts
index 3431415b..ed08342f 100644
--- a/apps/ui/vite.config.mts
+++ b/apps/ui/vite.config.mts
@@ -8,50 +8,63 @@ import { fileURLToPath } from "url";
 
 const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 
-export default defineConfig({
-  plugins: [
-    electron({
-      main: {
-        entry: "src/main.ts",
-        vite: {
-          build: {
-            outDir: "dist-electron",
-            rollupOptions: {
-              external: ["electron"],
-            },
-          },
-        },
+export default defineConfig(({ command }) => {
+  // Only skip electron plugin during dev server in CI (no display available for Electron)
+  // Always include it during build - we need dist-electron/main.js for electron-builder
+  const skipElectron =
+    command === "serve" &&
+    (process.env.CI === "true" || process.env.VITE_SKIP_ELECTRON === "true");
+
+  return {
+    plugins: [
+      // Only include electron plugin when not in CI/headless dev mode
+      ...(skipElectron
+        ? []
+        : [
+            electron({
+              main: {
+                entry: "src/main.ts",
+                vite: {
+                  build: {
+                    outDir: "dist-electron",
+                    rollupOptions: {
+                      external: ["electron"],
+                    },
+                  },
+                },
+              },
+              preload: {
+                input: "src/preload.ts",
+                vite: {
+                  build: {
+                    outDir: "dist-electron",
+                    rollupOptions: {
+                      external: ["electron"],
+                    },
+                  },
+                },
+              },
+            }),
+          ]),
+      TanStackRouterVite({
+        target: "react",
+        autoCodeSplitting: true,
+        routesDirectory: "./src/routes",
+        generatedRouteTree: "./src/routeTree.gen.ts",
+      }),
+      tailwindcss(),
+      react(),
+    ],
+    resolve: {
+      alias: {
+        "@": path.resolve(__dirname, "./src"),
       },
-      preload: {
-        input: "src/preload.ts",
-        vite: {
-          build: {
-            outDir: "dist-electron",
-            rollupOptions: {
-              external: ["electron"],
-            },
-          },
-        },
-      },
-    }),
-    TanStackRouterVite({
-      target: "react",
-      autoCodeSplitting: true,
-      routesDirectory: "./src/routes",
-      generatedRouteTree: "./src/routeTree.gen.ts",
-    }),
-    tailwindcss(),
-    react(),
-  ],
-  resolve: {
-    alias: {
-      "@": path.resolve(__dirname, "./src"),
     },
-  },
-  server: {
-    port: 5173,
-  },
-  build: {
-    outDir: "dist",
-  },
+    server: {
+      port: 5173,
+    },
+    build: {
+      outDir: "dist",
+    },
+  };
 });